Obama: A NATO coalition to join US military action vs ISIS

Speaking at the Nato summit in Wales, US President Barack Obama said a "core coalition" had been formed to tackle the Islamic State, which has seized large areas of Iraq and Iran. He ruled out the use of ground troops..

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the group would be the US, Britain, Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Turkey.

A State Department official earlier denied US plans for military cooperation with Iran to fight IS in Iraq, after DEBKAfile had revealed that this cooperation was already ongoing both in Iraq and Syria. The denial came after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was reported by the BBC from Iranian sources to have “sanctioned Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Al Qods Brigades commander, to work the forces fighting IS including those of the US, Iraq and Kurds." Iran’s foreign ministry then lined up with the State Department to claim the report was incorrect.

Read DEBKAfile’s Exclusive Report of Friday, Sept. 5.